Research Projects

Integrative Projects

1) Education and Ethnic Relations

The Education and Ethnic Relations Integrative Project is the original project that gave rise to the earliest research initiatives which ultimately led to the creation of the Graduate Program in Ethnic and Racial Relations, Education, and Contemporary Issues (PPGREC) and the Office of Education and Ethnic Relations (ODEERE). Faculty members from both research tracks participate in this project.

It is widely recognized that, due to structural, environmental, and religious racism; the genocide of the Black population; high rates of femicide, particularly among Black women; and violence against Indigenous, Quilombola, and Nomadic Communities, one of the primary ways to address the forms of violence that structure Brazilian society is through educational processes. In this context, the integrative project aims to produce research addressing a broad range of themes, including the production of diverse ethnic identities, in dialogue with mechanisms of resistance and plural subjectivities, as well as the development and implementation of educational legislation, such as Laws No. 10,639/2003 and No. 11,645/2008, and affirmative action policies. These legal frameworks require both public and private educational institutions to address Afro-Brazilian and Indigenous histories and cultures.

In terms of geographical scope, the research locus is the State of Bahia, with particular emphasis on the Southwestern region. Research methodologies vary according to the investigative context and analytical focus and may include quantitative approaches, but primarily qualitative methodologies, such as ethnography (ethnobiography and autoethnography) and participant observation; action-research; oral history; structured and semi-structured interviews; bibliographic and documentary research; content and discourse analysis; case studies; narrative analysis; hermeneutics; and phenomenology.

Through this project, the goal is to generate diverse research outputs with the potential to inform public policy and to foster an in-depth understanding of ethnic relations, particularly within the Southwestern region of Bahia.

Coordinator: Marise de Santana, Ph.D.

Members: Faculty, students, and alumni, particularly from Research Track 1 – Ethnic Relations, Memory, and Education

2) Center for Studies on Gender and Sexual Diversity

The Center for Studies on Gender and Sexual Diversity Integrative Project is aligned with Research Track 2. Its primary purpose is to promote teaching, research, and outreach initiatives aimed at addressing prejudice and discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation, with the goal of reducing levels of violence against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Transsexual, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, Pansexual, Non-Binary and other gender-diverse populations (LGBTQIAPN+). Civil society organizations serve as key interlocutors in these efforts.

The Center’s main thematic areas within Research Track 2 include human rights, comprehensive healthcare for the LGBTQIAPN+ population, and homophobic crimes. It also covers sexual minority rights, homophobia in schools, family and sexual diversity, religion and homosexuality, as well as institutional actions to combat homophobia in schools and other environments.

Methodologically, the Research Track 2 is guided by dialogue with its target audiences and critical reflection on everyday practices. Its activities include professional training courses in the fields of gender and sexuality; workshops for the general community; awareness campaigns aimed at recognizing the human rights of sexual minorities; and the development of diagnostic studies on violence against LGBTQIAPN+ populations in the Middle Rio de Contas Territory.

Through this Center, Research Track 2, the program seeks to expand educational spaces dedicated to the recognition of differences and to strengthen research initiatives in this field.

Coordinator: Marcos Lopes de Souza, Ph.D.

Members: Faculty, students, and alumni, particularly from Research Track 2 – Ethnicity, Gender, and Sexual Diversity

Thematic Projects

 3) Institutional Tutorial Education Program (PETI) Human Rights

The general objective of the PETI Human Rights Project is to promote integration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students by enabling peer-based, horizontally structured academic support guided by the students themselves. This integration is expected to result in greater Indigenous visibility on campus, improved understanding of academic regulations, significant encouragement for student retention, enhanced communication between the university and Indigenous communities, and the promotion of research and outreach activities that are more closely aligned with the immediate realities of Indigenous university students.

The methodology consists of twice-weekly meetings focused on the discussion of texts and audiovisual materials addressing Indigenous issues, particularly Indigenous participation in higher education, as well as the encouragement of research and extension activities related to these themes.

Coordinator: Ana Carolina Fialho de Abreu, Ph.D.

Members: Danilo César Souza Pinto, Ph.D.; Daniel Valério Martins, Ph.D.; students and alumni from Research Track 1 – Ethnic Relations, Memory, and Education

4) Oju Obinrin Black Women’s Observatory

The Oju Obinrin Black Women’s Observatory is affiliated with the Latin American and Caribbean Network for Research on Terreiro Feminisms (RELFET). This network emerged from the maturation of research conducted by Brazilian scholars throughout their academic trajectories across diverse disciplinary fields.

Coordinator: Nubia Regina Moreira, Ph.D.

Members: Francislene Cerqueira de Jesus, Ph.D.; students and alumni, particularly from Research Track 2 – Ethnicity, Gender, and Sexual Diversity

Interinstitutional Project

 5) Science in the Community: An Integrated Multidisciplinary Outreach Initiative of UESB Graduate Programs with the Community of Duas Irmãs, Manoel Vitorino, Bahia

The project Science in the Community: An Integrated Multidisciplinary Outreach Initiative of UESB Graduate Programs with the Community of Duas Irmãs, Manoel Vitorino, Bahia is part of the Graduate Extension Program (PROEXT-PG) of the Brazilian Ministry of Education, through the Secretariat of Higher Education (SESu) and the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES). The program is regulated by Joint Ordinances CAPES/SESu No. 1, dated November 8, 2023, and No. 2, dated November 10, 2023.

According to Article 2, PROEXT-PG aims to stimulate and strengthen outreach actions within graduate education through integrated teaching, research, and extension activities conducted in dialogue with diverse sectors of society. These actions are intended to support public administrators in the formulation of socially relevant and interdisciplinary public policies that contribute to sustainable development, citizenship, justice, democratic strengthening, social participation, quality of life, and the reduction of asymmetries within the National Graduate Education System (SNPG).

The Science in the Community project is coordinated by Robério Rodrigues Silva, Ph.D., with Marcos Lopes de Souza, Ph.D., serving as Deputy Coordinator. Faculty and students from twenty-two graduate programs at State University of Southwest Bahia (UESB) participate in this initiative.

Deputy Coordinator: Marcos Lopes de Souza, Ph.D.

Members: Faculty members from Program in Ethnic Relations and Contemporaneity (PPGREC) and other UESB graduate programs